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As reflected in the title, the purpose of this book is to guide clinicians in understanding and treating youth with severe antisocial behavior. Children and adolescents with conduct disorders operate at quite a high cost to society. In many opinion polls, juvenile crime and violence is rated as one of the most pressing concerns for many in our society. This widespread concern has prompted professionals from many disciplines to search for more effective interventions to prevent and treat youth with such disorders. This book is my attempt to summarize the current status of this very important endeavor. In providing this guide to clinicians, I have attempted to emphasize the critical link between understanding the clinical presentation, course, and causes of conduct disorders and designing effective interventions for children and adolescents with these disorders. Many past books, book chapters, and review articles have emphasized one or the other of these objectives. Some have provided excellent summaries of the vast amount of research on youth with conduct disorders without explicitly and clearly describing the clinical applica tions of this research. Others have focused on the implementation of specific interventions for youth with conduct disorders that is divorced from a basic understanding of the many diverse and clinically important characteristics of this population. The overriding theme of this book is that successful clinical inter vention requires an integration of both bodies of knowledge.
List of contents
1. An Introduction to Conduct Disorders.- Our Fascination with Antisocial Behavior.- A Complex and Important Construct.- An Applied-Science Orientation.- Overview of the Book's Structure.- 2. The Nature of Antisocial Behaviors and Conduct Disorders.- Basic Characteristics.- Distinguishing Normal and Abnormal Patterns of Conduct Problems.- Dimensional or Categorical Views of Conduct Problems.- Prevalence of Antisocial Behaviors and Conduct Disorders.- Developmental Trajectories of Conduct Disorders.- Stability of Conduct Disorders.- Summary.- 3. Classification of Conduct Disorders.- The Basics of Classification.- Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Conduct Disorder.- Subtypes Based on Patterns of Behavioral Covariation.- Subtypes Based on Socialization and Aggression.- Callous-Unemotional Traits and Conduct Disorders.- Conduct Disorders and Co-occurring Conditions.- Summary.- 4. The Etiology of Conduct Disorders.- Understanding the Development of Conduct Disorders: Some Basic Issues.- Dispositional Correlates.- Environmental Correlates.- Integrating Correlates into Causal Models.- Summary.- 5. Clinical Assessment.- A General Assessment Framework.- Specific Assessment Techniques.- Combining Information into a Clear Case Conceptualization.- Case Example Illustrating the Multistep Procedure for Integrating Assessment Information.- Summary.- 6. Treatment I: The Basic Techniques.- Overview of Treatment.- Contingency Management.- Parent Management Training.- Cognitive-Behavioral Skills Training.- Stimulant Medication.- Summary.- 7. Comprehensive Approaches to Treatment.- Initial Tests of Combined Treatments.- Fast Track Program.- Multisystemic Therapy.- Flexible Multimodal Treatment of Conduct Disorders.- The Future of the Treatment of Conduct Disorders.- References.
Summary
In providing this guide to clinicians, I have attempted to emphasize the critical link between understanding the clinical presentation, course, and causes of conduct disorders and designing effective interventions for children and adolescents with these disorders.
Report
`Although written primarily for the professional, the book addresses a topic of high interest to the general public, given the recent increase in youthful violence and juvenile delinquency generally.'
Choice (November 1998)
`This book provides a useful framework for understanding and treating conduct problems. The applied-science approach used throughout the book is especially commendable, as is the use of concrete examples to illustrate the main ideas.'
The Canadian Child Psychiatry Review, 8:3 (1999)
